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By Erik SchelzigAssociated Press • Friday February 15, 2013 9:05 AM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — National Rifle Association leader Wayne LaPierre renewed his call yesterday for armed guards in schools and urged gun owners to “stand and fight” for the Second Amendment.

In a speech billed as the NRA response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union call for new gun regulations, LaPierre noted in remarks to the National Wild Turkey Federation in Nashville that the speech didn’t mention school security. He dismissed Obama’s calls for background checks for all firearms purchases and bans on assault weapons and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

“We will not be duped by the hypocrisy in the White House or the Congress who would deny our right to semi-automatic technology, and the magazines we need to defend ourselves and our families,” he said.

LaPierre said the proponents’ real intentions would be to “ban every gun they can, tax every gun sold and register every gun owner.”

George Thornton, the CEO of the National Wild Turkey Federation, said his group agrees with LaPierre’s positions, even though not all of the gun-control proposals would directly affect hunters.

“You really don’t need large clips for hunting,” he said. “However, I have a very strong belief when you start to limit things, that the limits continue to chip away.”

LaPierre said a universal background check wouldn’t stop criminals or the mentally ill from getting firearms.

“Even when prohibited people are flagged by the system now, they are almost never stopped,” he said.

While LaPierre was critical of the president in the speech, the remarks were milder than his opinion piece this week on The Daily Caller, a conservative website; he predicted that the president’s financial policies will lead to chaos.

“Nobody knows if or when the fiscal collapse will come, but if the country is broke, there likely won’t be enough money to pay for police protection. And the American people know it,” he wrote.